Ecommerce Giant Amazon Invests INR 375 Cr In Its Indian Logistics Arm

Ecommerce giant, Amazon has infused INR 375 Cr in its Indian logistics subsidiary Amazon Transportation Services through its Singapore entity, Amazon Corporate and Mauritius entity and Amazon.com.incs Ltd.  

According to RoC filings, the investment occurred on June 16th and a total of 37.50 Lakh equity shares were allotted at INR 10 apiece. Amazon Corporate was allotted 37,49,99,396 shares whilst Amazon.com.incs was allotted 604 shares. 

Previously, Amazon invested INR 650 Cr (nearly $87 Mn) into Amazon Wholesale (India) through its entities, Amazon Corporate and Amazon Inc in November last year. The capital infusion was used to build a stronger fund chest to leverage its wholesale B2B business in the country. Prior to this, it also infused INR 1,000 Cr in its payment app Amazon Pay.  

Last month, Amazon India’s seller Cloudtail shut its business to comply with regulatory norms. As per the norms, online ecommerce players and its group of companies are not permitted to have ownership in any of the sellers registered on the platform. 

Cloudtail reportedly used to contribute roughly 35-45% of sales of the ecommerce platform, Amazon, until 2021. 

Earlier on, Amazon held a 49% stake in Cloudtail but later reduced its stake to 24% adhering to FDI regulations. 

Recently, the ecommerce giant also competed for digital and TV streaming rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches against Reliance Industries and other industry giants. However, it later withdrew its application and left the ground for other competitors– Reliance Industries’ Viacom18, Disney, and Sony India.

In April, Amazon India acquired social commerce startup GlowRoad for an undisclosed amount in an all-cash deal. The acquisition was made to bolster entrepreneurship among smaller sellers, students, and homemakers. With this, Amazon also forayed into the social commerce segment. 

Further, Amazon’s partner Samara Capital was reportedly raising nearly $500 Mn to set up a new fund targeting Indian companies. 

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.